the 'Wicked Jerome' AZ of yesteryears

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This is the first of a two-part series giving the background of Jerome, “the wickedest town in America” in its heyday a century ago. Thus it sets the stage for a subsequent one with photos from our 2011 visit showing how it has risen phoenix-like from the ashes of its unsavory past.

Founded in 1876 on the slope of Mingus Mountain, this mining camp soon became Arizona’s fourth largest settlement, with a population once estimated at 15,000. What a place it was --- a wide open gambling town complete with some 3,000 hard working, hard drinking, brawling miners, plus lusty “ladies” who provided occasional moments of warmth and relaxation for a price.

By 1900 Jerome’s miles of underground tunnels were producing some three million pounds of copper per month, plus some gold and other minerals. . All good things do come to an end, though.

Landslides and fires took their toll over the years, and the demand for copper petered out after World War II. As the ore deposits became exhausted the mines closed, and the population dwindled to fewer than 100 by the mid-1950s. For a while there was an initially unwelcome influx of “hippies”, but efforts to save the town from oblivion only succeeded when residents and ‘flower children’ together began in earnest to promote retail sales and tourism. Thanks to their efforts, in 1967 Jerome was declared a National Historic Landmark. Today, although it is sometimes still called “the biggest ghost town in America”, it has about 450 residents, thousands of tourists annually, art galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, wineries, and a state park and local museum devoted to mining history. It has become a place not to miss if you visit north-central Arizona.

Don’t forget you can click on individual thumbnails below to enlarge them and make the print readable.



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Comments

[Michel Leblanc]

Great history
Thanks Fred, as I mentioned to you before I have been to Jerome a few times; but, never realized how much I missed regarding the museum and history of the place...thanks for filling the blanks....Michel

[Misty]

So much rich history, very interesting place. I love how everything has been preserved so well; the "underground privy" reminds me of "Ferbitech" from the cottage, HAH!